Night Flight Tarmac
by silverymare
Summary: This waiting game of hers was finally coming to a tragic end. Meiling/Syaoran. one-shot.


Title: night flight tarmac  
Fandom: Card Captor Sakura  
Pairing: Meiling/Syaoran, Sakura/Syaoran.  
Rating: PG  
Disclaimer: Card Captor Sakura is owned by Clamp.  
Summary: This waiting game of hers was finally coming to a tragic end.  
A/N: Another old piece of fanfic that I started but never finished until now. This was first conceptualised in 2006, written at the same time I'd been writing _Pack_. I've always had a soft spot for Meiling, and even though she's only from the anime, I still think there's a lot of depth in her. There really is too much bashing of her character in the fandom, so hopefully this helps boost her fan ratings!

* * *

Meiling sighed, _tired_ and _sullen_ written on her face. She took in another breath of the blisteringly cold air, blew out a puff of warmth and sighed again. Impatiently, she twisted her wrist to see the time, but realised that it was buried under four layers of clothing. She grumped, stuck in an irritable mood. He was late. She hated this. Waiting meant stopping, and stopping meant examining where you were and who you were. And that was always a scary thing, because Meiling wasn't sure she liked the girl she was.

She left soul searching to those with magic. Divination was sketchy at best unless you knew you were getting a 100% accurate answer. She shook those thoughts out of her head. Fortune-telling. Tarot cards. It lead too close to Kinomoto. She bit her lip.

She was _not_ going to cry. She hated this. She hated being at the airport again. Even more so when it was disgustingly _wet_ and _miserable_. She shuffled in the grey slush composed of melted ice and dirty water, before looking up. The sky wasn't much better, all cloud-streaked and not a star in sight. She groaned, her face twisting into a frown. It didn't matter that even if he was late, they wouldn't be leaving until he showed. Wei had booked a private flight for her. The plane wasn't going anywhere unless she was on board.

A warm but elegantly-clad Tomoyo turned to look at her, hesitating for a second before giving that familiar _I know what's wrong and I'm sorry_ smile to her. Meiling felt like baring her teeth. Maybe Tomoyo would jump. This wasn't exactly what she had in mind when the Piffle Princess heiress had suggested cheering up before the last flight. It made it worse now she knew he _was_ coming.

If he didn't show up –

Glum again, Meiling wrapped her arms together, feeling the cold air brush her ears, giving her more goose bumps. She wound her red coat around her tighter, her gloved hands hiding themselves into her deep pockets. This was goodbye. There would be no more Japan after this, no more Clow Cards, no going to public school, no more groups of friends. No more _magic_. All the people she had met, all the friends she had made –

"Why did it have to be so cold?!" she mumbled, trying to cover up the sudden dampness in the corners of her eyes. Turning away, she hoped that Tomoyo missed the quiver in her voice. She wasn't going to cry, she wasn't going to cry, she wasn't going to cr-

Her body betrayed her. Brushing her sleeves against the leaking tears, Meiling pretended she was wiping the falling snowflakes away. A part of her, a small, serious voice, admitted that she would miss everything _so_ badly. She had so much more freedom here. As much as Hong Kong was home and familiar and comfortable, she'd miss the small things, like walking home from school by herself. Showing off her martial arts. Racing the other girls at the 100 metre dash. Cooking for Syaoran. Her frown deepened, and the tears ran rivers down the sides of her cold, pinched face. Here she was being _weak_.

It was always his fault.

Sure, they had made up last night. They'd never been able to stay angry with each other for long. He was too forgiving and she loved him too much. Deep down, she knew he loved her in his own way. Quietly, the love of family and friendship. But Meiling couldn't help the jealousy that bubbled inside. It wasn't _fair_ that Kinomoto had gotten his heart. Li Meiling had not been able to make Syaoran hers, even though they grew up together, learnt their lessons side-by-side and shared sweat and bruises. Without prompting from any of her aunties, she'd been constantly there for him, rain and sunshine.

She hadn't said this to anyone except Tomoyo – but why was Sakura so lucky? Why did the gods shine down on her?

It really pissed her off sometimes.

Making up her mind to do at least some damage to her surroundings, Meiling scuffed her new red shoes into the airport runway. Damn that Kinomoto and her lovely smile-! It was so hard not to be her friend! How dare she unleash that naïve innocence on unsuspecting people!

Meiling glanced over at Tomoyo. The girl radiating worry, no doubt for a certain girl being late. Though she never really paid much attention to it, she supposed Tomoyo only ever got that worked up when it involved her best friend. She'd never seen Daidouji ruffled any other time. Meiling deflated, feeling rather terrible. It was impossible to hate Kinomoto. It was hard to believe, but the Card Mistress was worming her way into her heart too.

_Still-! The both of them had better show up soon!_

Unlike Syaoran, she never had the capacity for patience. Waiting always seemed to drag. The pacing of it, the echo of each second, how slow the time counter ticked and how each second was filled by an hour of its own - it was all useless. Reminded her of unpleasant things.

She had waited before. Waited for him to come back to Hong Kong, to her. But it had never happened.

So she'd followed him. All the way to Tomoeda.

She had always been a girl of action. Seize the moment, and hope for the best. But look where that had got her. Now all that was left of her choices was to look somewhere else. To escape from this routine, this stifling, _waiting _custom that her mind and emotions had gotten so used to. But the funny thing was – she was still waiting for him. Even now. Even after what had happened. She'd been waiting for him her _whole_ life. Ever since that fateful rainy day. Meiling's red eyes softened.

_I love him. I probably always will._

She'd been expecting this exact scene forever, dreading it. At the pit of her heart, she'd known the looks that he'd given her wasn't the love she wanted. The love she demanded – he was supposed to brighten up at her entrance. Have a steady gaze that paid full attention to what she was saying, showing a part of him that no one else knew. She'd be the one who made him blush, and he'd make her flush back.

At the bottom of her heart, Meiling wished she could wait forever. Because when he finally arrived, crossing the airport tarmac with that familiar stride, arms crossed and eyes steady serious, she'd have to let go.


End file.
